“When?” I bit out.
He flinched, the movement so slight I almost missed it.
I advanced on him, closing the small distance between us. “What did he say to you?”
He looked up, his eyes dark and haunted.
“He told me staying with you will get me killed. That once the Guild takes down their real target, we’re next,” Asher confessed.
Then he told me about the burner phone Declan had handed him and how he had called Donovan.
Fury swept through me, but the fact remained: Asher hadn’t betrayed me. He stayed.
“And you believed them?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. I mean, yes. I don’t know!”
His voice cracked, the frustration in it mirroring my own.
“I don’t want to believe them, Gael, but—” He broke off, dragging a hand through his wet hair. “It made sense. And for a moment, I nearly… I nearly let their words get to me.”
My heart twisted. The thought of Asher walking away, of leaving me behind, tore at something deep inside me.
I silently counted to ten in my head, trying to steady myself.
“I feel lost as well, Asher,” I told him. “I don’t know where I’m going, what I’m really doing anymore. But you… you’re the one thing that makes sense to me right now.”
His eyes widened, surprise flickering across his face before it softened into something else. Something I couldn’t name.
His gaze dropped to the floor, and his shoulders sagged.
“I didn’t want to ruin what was happening between us,” Asher murmured. “I was afraid if I told you, it would all fall apart.”
I reached out, my fingers brushing against his cheek.
He leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering shut. The warmth of his skin against my fingertips sent a shiver through me.
“It’s already falling apart,” I said.
He opened his eyes, and for a long moment, we just stared at each other.
The storm raged around us, the wind howling like a wounded animal, but inside this fragile shelter, there was only us.
I didn’t know who moved first.
Maybe it was him. Maybe it was me. But suddenly, his lips were on mine, hot and desperate, a collision of need and fear.
I tasted rain and salt, the bitterness of our struggles, and the sweetness of him.
I crushed him to me, my hands tangling in his wet hair, pulling him closer.
He responded with equal fervor, his fingers digging into my shoulders as if he was afraid I’d disappear.
The kiss deepened, our mouths clashing, teeth grazing, tongues sliding together.
It was raw, unfiltered emotion pouring out of us, a storm of its own. Then we finally broke apart.
His breath was warm against my lips, his eyes dark with desire and something deeper. Something that made my heart ache.
